As Culver City moves forward with Bicycle Pedestrian Master Plan projects and Linwood Howe Elementary starts to define its Safe Routes to School program (note the new shared lane marking “sharrows” on the streets near the school), it is a good time to note that having safe places to ride is not the same as riding safely in those places.
Learning the basics of safe riding is important for everyone of course, but it’s especially important for children to learn the rules of the road and basic safety skills early. The importance of stopping at stop signs, yielding at intersections and proper signaling are important to know before you hit the streets, yet unfortunately, many of us don’t learn these basics until we start to drive a car.
Recently, the Culver City Bicycle Coalition, along with Sustainable Streets and CORBA (Concerned Off-Road Bicyclists Association) had an opportunity to work with a large group of children at the Christmas in July event at Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area. Christmas in July is the brainchild of Assemblymember Holly Mitchell and was designed to recognize the importance of health and wellness and education in the lives of young children and working families. More than 200 children from throughout the 47th Assembly District participated in the event and many learned about cycling for the first time.
“It is in times like these that we work to find other ways to help children and families have access to resources and opportunities that will help them in life. Making reading easy and showing children how they can stay fit for free are small but real ways that we can help families be stronger,” Mitchell said.
To encourage the kids to ride and to ride safely, Sustainable Streets set up courses to creatively teach basic bike handling skills and the rules of the road. For example, the Cloverleaf course taught kids the importance of obeying stop signs and yielding to cross traffic to prevent collisions with other drivers. Likewise, cyclists of all abilities practiced balancing, straight-line riding, braking and scanning at the turtle race setup. The highlight of this course was a race to finish last, hence the name turtle race, demonstrating to the kids how to maintain control of their bicycle at slow speeds.
Ron Durgin of Sustainable Streets adds, “Learning to ride a bicycle safely and within the rules of the road is an essential life skill for people of all ages. Bike education for kids is especially important, as it provides an excellent source of physical activity combined with practical decision-making in a fun environment that encourages responsible bicycling behavior.”
With the assistance of David Grant of CORBA, we took some older kids on a short mountain bike ride where they learned additional skills such as proper techniques in shifting, braking and climbing and descending short hills. “
Bicycles are still one of the most important aspects of a child’s early life, from learning motor skills to cooperation to responsibility,” says Mark Langton, president of CORBA. “Early instruction can serve as a foundation for all kinds of social and family interaction. Not to mention, it’s still one of the best and most fun forms of exercise a kid can have. Now more than ever we need to get kids on bikes.”
Throughout the day, we worked with children of all ages and they clearly had a great time. There were even a few that had never ridden a two-wheeler before and some who had never actually pedaled before. One child mastered the pedaling and balancing quickly and was then able to participate in the safety classes. Seeing the joy these children had in experiencing the freedom a bicycle can bring for the first time was a reminder of why we do what we do.
Teaching basic skills like these in such a fun environment reinforces the importance of encouraging kids to ride their bikes as a form of recreation, exercise and transportation. And doing so in a cooperative environment combining various coalitions, politicians and parents is an excellent way to demonstrate the value of a healthier community as a whole. With these techniques in hand and safer places to ride, children will develop a foundation of self-reliance, responsibility and safe practices that will last a lifetime.
Bike Safe, Bike Smart! is a weekly column to promote responsible cycling by providing information, education and advice about riding. It’s written by members of the Culver City Bicycle Coalition (CCBC), a local chapter of the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition. Join them for their family bike ride the last Sunday of every month. For more information and to submit questions, write: ccbicyclecoalition@gmail.com, and visit their blog:ccbike.org